Anil Agarwal Dialogue 2014

Anil Agarwal Dialogue brings together different stakeholders to discuss issues of national importance. The previous editions of the dialogue have discussed mining, forest clearances and water management. These discussions have been instrumental in pushing for reforms in the respective sectors. This year, the Anil Agarwal Dialogue will address the issue of energy access and the role of renewable energy in providing energy to all.

Energy access in rural India has been a development priority for the government for many decades. However, 45 per cent of rural households lack access to electricity. Around 700 million people depend on biomass for their energy needs, predominantly for cooking, and 77.5 million households still use kerosene for lighting. Although electricity generation has grown at 7 per cent between 2002 and 2013, we are still not able to provide electricity to everyone in the country. We at CSE strongly believe that India needs to end the energy poverty in the country and renewable energy will play an important role in it.

We take this opportunity to release the Citizen’s Report on Renewable Energy which provides insight on the current status of sector in India in addition to the some of the key stories that played a significant role in shaping the industry to what it is today. Our study on mini-grids, that establishes the need for a policy and regulatory framework will also be released during the dialogues. The two-day conference is focused on deliberating energy access issues, including electricity for lighting and clean sources of energy for cooking, and the role of renewable energy to meet the overall unmet energy demand.

Updates

Anil Agarwal Dialogue brings together different stakeholders to discuss issues of national importance. The previous editions of the dialogue have discussed mining, forest clearances and water management. These discussions have been instrumental in pushing for reforms in the respective sectors. This year, the Anil Agarwal Dialogue will address the issue of energy access and the role of renewable energy in providing energy to all.

Energy access in rural India has been a development priority for the government for many decades. However, 45 per cent of rural households lack access to electricity. Around 700 million people depend on biomass for their energy needs, predominantly for cooking, and 77.5 million households still use kerosene for lighting. Although electricity generation has grown at 7 per cent between 2002 and 2013, we are still not able to provide electricity to everyone in the country. We at CSE strongly believe that India needs to end the energy poverty in the country and renewable energy will play an important role in it.

We take this opportunity to release the Citizen’s Report on Renewable Energy which provides insight on the current status of sector in India in addition to the some of the key stories that played a significant role in shaping the industry to what it is today. Our study on mini-grids, that establishes the need for a policy and regulatory framework will also be released during the dialogues. The two-day conference is focused on deliberating energy access issues, including electricity for lighting and clean sources of energy for cooking, and the role of renewable energy to meet the overall unmet energy demand.